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Inverclyde Royal League of Hospital Friends Tea Bar

Inverclyde Royal League of Hospital Friends Tea Bar has recently re-achieved a healthy living award.

The League of Friends Tea Bar is a volunteer-run café. Helen Wylie, Tea Bar Convener, has been volunteering at the tea bar for 33 years, and works with a network of 90 volunteers. It was important that the volunteers were well versed in the award criteria and the reasons why the café was embracing the award.These volunteers help towards keeping costs down and enable the charity to give money back to the hospital. Last year, £160,000 was gifted back to Inverclyde Royal.

The tea bar traditionally sold a large number of cakes, including cream cakes, but made changes to the food offering in recent years. Cakes are still on offer but the range has been vastly reduced. The tea bar now offers brown and wheatgerm-filled rolls, with salad to accompany them. There is also fresh fruit, fresh-fruit pots, low-fat yoghurts and other items which comply with the healthyliving criteria. Like all awarded businesses, the tea bar had to ensure that at least 50% of the menu offering adhered to the award criteria.

Helen explained that simple things were challenging, such as sourcing the correct products. Ordering fruit and vegetables was not difficult, but ordering in bulk was resulting in too much waste. Helen now works around these problems by buying certain products from the local supermarket herself, while the fruit and vegetables are bought daily by a volunteer. This is no mean feat for the network of volunteers, who Helen said ‘are not young in years!’

Helen is very enthusiastic about the award and is thrilled to see people making small changes, like requesting salad in their cold meat rolls. The demand for cakes has not disappeared, but perhaps the availability of healthier choices will encourage customers to consider an alternative.

A flavour of…

Mushroom Salad - Recipe from Lezzetli, Edinburgh Serves 4 people

Method:

  1. Bring a pot of water and generous squirt of lemon juice to the boil.
  2. Cut the carrot into batons and blanche for 2 minutes.
  3. Wash and quarter the mushrooms, add to pot and blanche for a further 2 minutes.
  4. Drain and rinse under cold water.
  5. When cool, add the following: red pepper – cut lengthwise, gherkin – cut lengthwise, spring onions – cut finely lengthwise, a handful of fresh dill – finely chopped.
  6. Dress with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

 

Ingredients:
500g closed cup
mushrooms
1 large carrot
1 small red pepper
1 large gherkin
2 spring onions
Fresh dill
Olive oil and lemon juice

For more information on Lezzetli or another award holding businesses visit: www.healthylivingaward.co.uk/customers/healthy-eating-near-you

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issue 27:
Autumn 2013
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The healthyliving awardNHS Health Scotland - Scotland's health improvement agencyHealthier Scotland - Scottish GovernmentHealthier Scotland - Scottish Government